The Importance of self-care

August 5, 2018

Recent years have taught me the importance of self-care and this is something that we want our lifestyle to focus on. It also means we’ll be blogging a lot about taking care of yourself, whether that be mentally, physically or spiritually.

Taking care of yourself sounds simple right? Eat well, exercise blah blah blah… we hear it all the time! But there’s so much more to it than that, and it’s something that not enough people are doing. So here’s our guide on what it’s actually all about and why it’s so important.

What is self-care?

Self-care is not just about the obvious parts of looking after yourself, it’s about understanding when your batteries are running low and you need to recharge.

It’s about understanding your body and your mental health and doing what’s best for you. It’s about being kind to yourself and treating yourself with the respect you would others.

The different types of self-care

Self-care can generally be split into three different areas and it’s important to nurture each individually. Below are the three areas of focus and the top ways you can look after yourself.

1. Physical

Firstly, is the physical side of your wellbeing. This means looking after your health, taking note of what you eat, what you drink and how much you exercise. Depending on your lifestyle this could be the hardest or easiest part of self-care.

We do tend to fall down in this area because we just LOVE beer! But it’s about trying to find a balance, but also not punishing yourself if you do go overboard.

2. Emotional

Next up is your emotional wellbeing. This includes taking time to understand your emotions and looking after your mental health. Most importantly it’s about dealing with any negative feelings you may experience and embracing the positive moments.

3. Spiritual

This area of self-care can often be confused with religion. Spirituality doesn’t have to be about religion, though it can be a part of it. But primarily it’s about your ideals and what matters in your life. This can be doing things that make you happy, mindfulness, meditation, or taking care of your core values.

Why is self-care so important?

So why should we all be making more time for ourselves and really taking our own wellbeing into consideration?

To reduce the risk of illness

From a physical perspective, looking after your body and health is extremely important for living a long life and avoiding the risk of disease and illness. Not to mention that looking after your physical health helps you to take care of your mental health.

To feel energised

When you look after yourself you’ll have more energy and more motivation to do the things you love. This will also help you to be more productive, whether that’s at work or in your private life.

To take care of your mental health

So many people are suffering from mental health problems these days, and taking time out for self-care can help you to reduce or combat any issues you may be facing.

To enhance self-esteem

When we let our health, both physical and mental, go by the way side it can have a knock on effect on our self-esteem. We often feel worse if we’ve been eating or drinking too much, or if we’ve not been taking time out to relax and recharge.

If you give yourself the time you deserve, you’ll find you have higher self-esteem and are generally happier. It can be tough if you dedicate a great deal of your time and energy to taking care of other people, but look after yourself and you’ll be better equipped to help others.